Page 66 of Downfall

“Get off.” I snap. “You have no right…”

Carter grins yanking me back and the bag falls free. Sampson’s digging his hand in rummaging through like he knows exactly what he’s looking for and as he does my stomach sinks further and further. He pulls my purse out and we all see the notes sticking out. It’s bloody loaded.

“What’s this princess?” He taunts.

“It’s my money I can do what I want with it.” I state.

Carter yanks my face up so I’m forced to stare at him. “And what would you need all this cash for?”

“I’m going on a shopping trip.” I say.

He laughs. Sampson laughs too. And then Sampson puts his fingers to his right ear and mutters. “We have her. Send the car.”

“What’s going on?” I ask jerking to get free but already I know it’s useless.

“You tell me princess.” Carter says. “You’re the one who’s been fraternising with the enemy.”

“What?” I half whisper before my brain engages enough to tell me to shut up.

They don’t reply, they just stand there, holding me like I’m some sort of escapee until the car pulls up and then I’m bundled inside.

And the whole time I’m trying to figure out what they know, what my parents know, and how the hell I’m going to get away now.

* * *

I wakein my bed with no recollection of how I got here. Bella is curled up into me and I guess it’s a measure of how much she’s changed now that Paris is gone because he refused to allow her upstairs and certainly would never have permitted her on, let alone in, our bed.

My head is pounding. I know I drank too much but at the time I didn’t care. Something in me snapped. I had to get rid of his stuff. I had to try to expel some of the memories and some of the guilt too.

Because I do feel guilty.

He’s my husband.Wasmy husband. I should be mourning him. Grieving him but all I feel is a strange mix of relief and stagnation. If I had my way I’d be out of this house. I’d be selling it already. Selling every single item too because all of it reminds me of him.

But damn did it feel good to burn his stuff. It felt like a final ‘fuck you’. Paris always took such pride in his appearance. He spent more money on clothes than I did.

And now all of them are little more than ash.

I smirk and my head responds by punishing me further.

Thankfully there’s nowhere to be so I spend the day in bed, with Bella, coming up with a new plan. Deciding that even if I can’t sell this place, I don’t have to live here do I?

And once I come to that conclusion I start looking up houses, places to rent that are far more me.

* * *

Dayslater I pack some things and move out. I tell the maids to stay all except Mae. I keep the security there as well to ensure the place is safe and I go. If I were prudent I’d take more of them with me but I’m sick of being followed. I’m sick of being watched.

So yeah, perhaps it is reckless but I trust the handful of guards that I do take to keep me safe.

My new house is tiny in comparison. With wooden shutters on the front that give it a cottage type feel. It’s in the Old Town. Not far from City Hall and if I was admitting it, more on the Montague side of town. Not that that is intentional. And not that any of us adhere to the old boundaries.

Besides that wasn’t what attracted me to this place. It’s the little details. The fact that it’s got a great view of the marina. The fact that there’s a big comfy corner couch that you can feel yourself sinking into just by looking at it.

But mainly it’s the fact that I have no past here. No ugly interactions with Paris in any of the rooms.

This place feels like a sanctuary.

And from the moment I step inside it feels like home. My home.

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